The National Deuteration Facility (NDF) at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) provides deuteration through both biological and chemical techniques for a diversity of molecules and applications and is the only facility of its type in the Southern Hemisphere.
Molecular deuteration of organic compounds and biomolecules significantly increases the options in complex structure function investigations by providing contrast and improved data resolution when using neutron scattering and reflectometry, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS) and other techniques.
Along with capabilities for provision of isotopically labelled proteins (variably deuterated, multiply-labelled - 2H, 13C, 15N), NDF also provides access to a range of deuterated lipids, unsaturated phospholipids (such as POPC and DOPC) and detergents. The availability of these custom complex deuterated molecules which are generally unavailable commercially, adds to the range of characterisation techniques possible across multiple research areas including but not limited to drug discovery and vaccine development.
Match-out detergents can be utilised to determine membrane protein conformation in solution via small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and deuterated lipids can be employed to construct biologically relevant lipid matrices for multiple experimental applications. Encapsulating various molecules within lipid nanoparticles (LNP) has garnered high interest during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic with the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. LNP therapies utilise molecules like small interfering RNA (siRNA) and mRNA to elicit desired therapeutic responses including an immune response and protein knock-down or production in situ. Deuterating components of these LNP is essential for neutron techniques that can be used to study the stability and structure of these drug delivery vehicles.
An overview and update on the NDF will be provided which will include details on the NDF User Program (e.g. available modes of access), recent advancements in custom deuterated molecules available and selected highlights of deuterated molecule utilisation.